Ponsbourne Park Hotel

poor selection of food in the bistro at lunchtime

For a 4* hotel - reception was a shambles - Our presence was not acknowledged for a period of time - there was no pen available in reception, and no printer meaning we had to wait while staff were sent to collect the invoice from a printer elsewhere in the building. The room was poor for 4* accomodation with no waste bin provided, only decaff coffee available and in general need of refurbishment - however the evening meal in the Bistro was first class, although severly let down the following morning by the quality of the breakfast, served by disinterested staff fom a hotplate which appeared not to be working properly as some of the food on there was cold.
In short I'd recommend this place as a place to go for an evening meal but book a room elsewhere, I have visited many 3* establishments of much higher standard.

On the positive side, I found it easy to get to following the web site map and directions. I found the staff friendly and helpful, helping me to solve a 'missing shoes' problem. They were very relaxed. The food in the restaurant was superb! The setting and grounds were lovely.
On the negative side, this really was a conference hotel. I think we may have been the only 2 not at a conference. To get to our bedroom we had to push through the gatherings of several workgroups. When we left at 9 am. decorators had already cluttered the corridors and were most surprised to find anyone out of their classrooms! The whole place seemed a bit tired. We were in the relatively new annex so expected things to be a bit fresher. They weren't. The room was fairly dusty and the bathroom had loose electrical fittings and could have been cleaner. The bed....! Well, it was like a low slung hospital bed that sagged in the middle when we both got in! It had bits jutting out, covered with carpet off-cuts as obviously previous guests had stubbed their toes. I know we did! It was quite uncomfortable to sleep in.
Pity the pool was closed. I had looked forward to using it but it was only on arrival I discovered it wouldn't open till the following month... perhaps.! It had been a deciding factor in choosing this hotel.
It claims to be 4 * but the room standard was barely 3*, we felt. Anyone paying full price would certainly be disappointed.